Photo Set

Photo of the Week

January 20, 2012

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finalized a rule that would ban the importation and interstate transportation of four nonnative constrictor snakes that threaten the Everglades and other sensitive ecosystems across the United States.

The final rule – which incorporates public comments, economic analysis, and environmental assessment – lists the Burmese python, the yellow anaconda, and the northern and southern African pythons as injurious wildlife under the Lacey Act in order to restrict their spread in the wild in the United States. It is expected to publish in the Federal Register in the coming days.

From L-R, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, Al Mercado, Ranger Supervisor for the National Park Service, Ron Bergeron, member of the Florida Wildife Commission, Secretary Salazar, and a National Park Service employee, hold a Burmese Python in the Florida Everglades. Tami A. Heilemann-Office of Communications